Investigators still seeking cause of Nipomo blaze

Investigators Thursday were still looking for the cause of a suspicious fire that gutted the abandoned Nipomo Recreation Center.

Fire officials said the damage to the building at 170 S. Frontage Road and surrounding area from the Wednesday night blaze is estimated at

$1 million.

Authorities also were on the hunt for four teenagers suspected of starting the fire.

A witness reported seeing four teens wearing hooded sweatshirts flee the area shortly before the flames erupted about 7 p.m., according to Es Berliner, a Cal Fire/San Luis Obispo County Fire Department spokeswoman.

She described them as between 14 and 17 years old. All four wore hooded sweatshirts. Two were reportedly wearing black T-shirts, while the other two were wearing white T-shirts, the fire official said.

“We need to find out what those kids either saw or did, and why they were in the area,” said Capt. Jane Schmitz of Cal Fire, the lead arson investigator on the case.

Thirty firefighters from various Central Coast departments battled the blaze for several hours before containing it at about 11 p.m., Berliner said.

One firefighter was injured while fighting the fire.

The 9,700-square-foot, two-story structure was to have been part of the proposed Nipomo Commons mixed-use project, although plans for its use had recently changed.

Just how its loss will affect that project was unclear Thursday, as neither property owner and developer Ed Shapiro nor project partner Rob Marinai could be reached for comment.

But “more than anything it's just more of an emotional kind of thing for the community because the whole community came together to build (the center),” said Nipomo Recreation Director Becky Crowe. “It's just a huge part of the community. Even though it was abandoned, the fact that it burned down is just kind of a hard thing to swallow.”

The site was deeded to San Luis Obispo County in the 1940s, and subsequently became the property of the San Luis Obispo County Office of Education, which apparently never paid for the land.

The Nipomo Recreation Association leased the site in 1985, and operated the recreation center, built with community donations, for more than a decade until the County Office of Education sold the 5.3-acre property to cash in on the skyrocketing value of the land.

Shapiro purchased the site in 2004 for $2.3 million to develop Nipomo Commons, and the center was to be converted to a health club as part of that development.

But the future of the building was left uncertain in March when Shapiro and Marinai agreed to eliminate the health club from their proposal to reduce the amount of water the project would require.

That allowed the Nipomo Community Services District to transfer part of the Nipomo Commons water allocation to Marinai's proposed hotel across Hill Street to keep that project moving through the county approval process.

Nipomo resident Jagan Harsharna said the former recreation center had become an eyesore in recent years, with unkempt landscaping and graffiti dominating what once was a beautiful building.

“I like this place to look beautiful and nice,” he said. “They never cut the grass. Nobody takes care of it. The county doesn't enforce the rules. The owner doesn't cut the grass.”

Despite Wednesday's fire, plans were already long in the works to build a new recreation center in Nipomo Park, either at the center of the park or just off Tefft Street.

Jan Di Leo, chief park planner for San Luis Obispo County Parks, said the chief advantage of having a recreation center connected with the park is that the county would shoulder the costs of running the facility.

“It may be more of an economic advantage if people truly want a community center in Nipomo. It would make it probably more likely to be successful,” she said.

Some residents are opposed to building a recreation center at Nipomo Park, saying it may increase traffic to the area and spoil the natural surroundings.

Investigators are asking anyone with information about the fire to call the Cal Fire tip line at 543-9643.

Natalie Ragus can be reached at 347-4580 or nragus@santamariatimes.com.

May 9, 2008